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In the 1980s, Pablo Escobar had created a wild animal reserve in which there were four hippos. The animals survived the Colombian drug lord and now number around 100.
More than 10,000 kilometers from their usual habitat, wild hippos frolic in a lake in central Colombia. They thrive in South America, since the drug baron offered them a new continent, far from their original Africa.
In the middle of the Colombian countryside, a good hundred hippos live in freedom. “This habitat is even better for them here than in Africa, because they have no predators”, highlighted David disheveled, biologist. The hippos got there thanks to Pablo Escobar. The drug lord imports four creatures. “He created his own national park with lots of African species. That says a lot about the personality of Pablo Escobar.”, explains Xavier Andrade, anthropologist.
Hippos have proliferated since the death of Pablo Escobar. Today, the hacienda Napoles is become an amusement park where Colombians come to feed the animals. Sterilization campaigns were carried out, but not all were captured. Their population has doubled in ten years and is starting to be debated. These animals weighing several tons have caused several serious injuries in Colombia. Caution is advised around these animals. But despite the attacks “We never thought of killing the hippos. We have to respect them”, underlines a resident.